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Dunn artwork to hang in US Capitol for the next year

May 2, 2018 - 10:55amFalmouth1

Kennedy Dunn has been drawing since she was a little kid obsessed with flowers. That love turned into drawing dogs and a picture of her basset hound named “Rosie.” The picture started as pencil drawing her freshmen year. One that she scrapped and threw away.

“I re-did it in watercolor and have it as my home screen,” said Dunn who admitted that realist was not her strong suit but set a goal to do it better.

Her skill became “good enough” to be chosen by two judges from the Behringer-Crawford Museum to hang in the U.S. Capitol for the next year. “Rosie” was chosen from among 25 entries throughout Congressman Thomas Massie’s 4th district. Dunn will be traveling to Washington D.C. in late June for the Congressional Art Competition Reception and see her artwork hanging in a yet undisclosed location within the Capitol Building.

“Every year at the Congressional Art Competition, we have so many excellent artists compete. Kennedy Dunn deserves this honor,” said Congressman Massie.

The senior plans to attend Northern Kentucky University in the fall with an eye on studying Art Therapy. “It’s a form of therapy that helps a person to express themselves through art. It can be individuals who are coming out of abusive situations,
a bad home life, cancer patients or any number of reasons,” she explained.

Dunn gives credit to Pendleton County High School art teacher Debbie Jeans. “She has her art kids and I knew I could go to Ms. Jeans for anything.”

“Kennedy is an amazing, talented, and skilled artist whose has developed a unique style. We are fortunate our district has supported and encourage young artists like her,” said Jeans. “Art is an area that many people feel is unimportant and has been taken out of a lot of schools. However, if they looked around them, just about everything has had a touch of an artist, from the clothes you wear, designs of houses, cars, furniture, video games, movies, TV show, the list is too numerous. I have a lot of very talented students and I am glad that Kennedy is getting the recognition for her talent, especially in such a prestigious way.”

Dunn remembers seeing artwork hanging in the John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts and thought it would be “cool to have that done someday.” While it’s not that D.C. location, her artwork is hanging in a famed building that has been so pivotal in this country’s history.